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The bread-ier the better: Austin's best trailer food doughs
From Gourdough’s gourmet donuts, to Lucky’s traditional wood-fired Puccia bread and The Fat Cactus’ Navajo Frybread, the trailer food world in Austin has a lot of unique dough to offer. Here is an insider’s look on a gluten-y — but not gluttonous — array of breads to explore on your next trailer tour.
Lucky’s Puccias
What’s his dough? Wood-fired Puccia bread
Where are they? South Lamar and 5th Street (next to the Tiniest Bar)
What to get:
- The Lucky: Prosciutto di Parma, arugula, mozzarella, tomato and aioli
- The Pastrami: Pastrami with three Italian cheeses melted over it in the oven, topped with grilled mushrooms, peppers, onions and chipotle aioli
- Also try to sample the olive tapenade, artichoke pesto and basil aioli
"Aunt Maria was the only one who had a traditional wood burning oven in my hometown in Italy. I loved the smell, and the consistency of softness, so I learned how to make it by working for them in the summers," founder Lucky Sibillashares. But what exactly makes a puccia a puccia? It is a light Italian bread originally created in the Southern part of the geographical boot, baked in just a few minutes in a wood-burning oven. The puccia bread is split in half and filled with any number of creative ingredients.
It’s lighter than a ciabatta, but firm enough to hold whatever you load it with; similar to pita bread, but fuller, whiter, fluffier and dare I say — better.
Gourdough’s
What’s their dough? Big. Fat. Donuts.
Where are they? 1503 South 1st Street
What to get:
- Boss Hog: Pulled pork, potato salad and BBQ sauce… on top of a donut
- Cherry Bombs: Glazed cherry-topped holes, cinnamon, sugar and cake mix topping
- Naughty & Nice: Cinnamon and sugar coated donut with holes
- Flying Pig: Bacon atop a donut with maple icing
- Porky’s: Whipped cream cheese (not sweet), injected with jalapeno jelly and topped with Canadian bacon
- Funky Monkey: Cream cheese icing, grilled bananas with brown sugar
It takes a proprietary blend of flour and sugar to create the deep-fried, highly acclaimed bad boys at Gourdough's. Having been featured in the Austin Chronicle, No Reservations, Texas Monthly, GQ and others, these donuts are something to write home about. Popular in many countries, the ‘ring’ shaped version was developed here in the United States in the 1800s. References to donuts abound in nearly every country, but it is the outlandish toppings that make these particular donuts something special.
With nearly two dozen oversized options to choose from out of this immediately recognizable '78 Airstream trailer, it's as big of a challenge to finish one as it is to pick one out. New to Gourdough’s? Go with a friend and split the calories.
The Fat Cactus
What’s their dough? Navajo Frybread
Where are they? South Congress and Gibson
What to get:
- The Pecker: Chile rubbed roasted chicken, pinto beans, lettuce, tomato and cheddar cheese with your choice of red or green sauce (formed as a taco)
- The Foghorn: Cilantro, pumpkinseed pesto with chile rubbed roasted chicken, goat cheese, red onion and toasted pepitas (formed as a pizza)
- Green chile hummus
- Cilantro lemonade
Named the official ‘state bread’ of South Dakota, frybread is a traditional Native American food that was originally created with government staples of flour and lard. This dish manifested nearly 150 years ago and is still a popular cultural dish today, served differently within various regions. Frybread can be eaten alone, drizzled with with honey or formed into a taco using beef, tomatoes, cheese, onions and lettuce. In fact, the foodies behind the Fat Cactus use frybread as their palette to create multiple interesting entrees.
Their regional inspiration comes from the Southwest, where owners Courtney and Chris grew up in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Their menu is infused with elements from Southwestern, Cajun and interior Mexican cuisine, with frybread used as the base of a taco, the base of a pizza or even the foundation of a dessert.